AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Out of instinct, the man reached out in his attempt to apologize, but the moment he did, his entire face changed. I easily recognized Kinen, the High Priest of my own temple. It took a split second before he noticed who exactly he'd run into, and all of the kindness vanished from his expression.
"Baroness," he grumbled. "Excuse me. I didn't see you there."
He turned, clearly intending to walk off, but Maela caught his elbow. "Priest Kinen," she said in her most elegant voice, "I'm so glad to have caught you. I was hoping for those reports tonight."
"Tonight is a holiday," Kinen reminded her. "I'm afraid I don't bring the financial reports for my temple to such things."
"And yet without them," Maela said, "your temple will not be getting any funding this year. The tithe is based on the budget. Without a budget - which you have yet to get me for any of the last five years - I have nothing with which to determine how much money the Temple of Temptation will need. The last time we talked, I made it very clear that I need that report by tonight. In case you missed it, midnight has come and gone. You are late."
"I sent a letter to your husband," Kinen said, sounding annoyingly smug. "I'll just let him worry about the annual tithes to the temple."
That was when Yamina decided to step up. "Priest Kinen," she said, lifting her chin defiantly, "I thought it would be clear by now that the baroness is our family's choice of Primary Patron. Lady Ranndor will be handling the business between your temple and our family's operations. If you want your share of the Temptation barony's tax money, then my sister-in-law needs those reports."
Kinen let his eyes run over the young lady, then he scoffed. "And how old are you, Miss Ranndor? Do you even understand how such things work?"
"I am almost eighteen," Yamina assured him. "Not only am I old enough to be considering marriage, but I'm about to be a legal adult according to the laws of Calseth. I am the daughter of a baron and the sister to one. I assure you, Priest Kinen, that I have been taught not only the laws of our nation, but also those of our god's barony. I also think I'm much more qualified to know my brother's mind than a priest who has met him no more than a handful of times. Do you disagree?"
I couldn't help but be impressed by the girl's defiance. She stood up to Kinen in the way that I wanted to! Nothing about the High Priest seemed to scare Yamina at all. Then again, he also had no control over her life - unlike mine.
However, the High Priest of Temptation wasn't about to be pushed around by two women. "You can either continue to send the standard tithe to the temple, or you can live with the knowledge that thousands of priests will be starving because you refuse to feed them. The laws of Calseth make it very clear that a portion of the taxes raised in Zeal's barony is for the use of his priests. I very highly doubt that the Ranndor family would like for people to hear howgreedyyou are being."
"Or how greedy you are," Maela countered. "You might think you're calling my bluff, Kinen, but you're not. See, I am not bluffing. Until I have the temple's budget, you will not see a single copper from the treasury." She smiled at him and the look in her eyes reminded me of the expression on Ela's face that morning. "But please, don't let us ruin your evening."
And with that, Maela turned back to me, yet before she could get a single word out, Kinen stepped between us. "Priestess Nariana! I should have known that you were at the center of this. What are you even doing at the Temple of Compassion tonight?"
Surprisingly, it was Jeerad who stepped forward. "I invited her, High Priest."
Kinen sneered at my brother. "And who are you?"
"I am Jeerad, Priest of the Word with Compassion and advisor to High Priest Viyan."
Kinen's eyes turned to me and the look could only be described as a glare. "I amverycurious as to what a High Priest would want with an initiate Priestess of Temptation."
"Viyan didn't invite her," Jeerad assured him. "I did. Nariana is my sister, Priest Kinen. When I heard the name of this impressive priestess with all five Paths, I was shocked to realize I recognized it. Naturally, I wanted to spend my temple's most important holiday with her and catch up on all the years we've missed." Jeerad's emerald eyes sparkled with a challenge, all but daring Kinen to call him a liar. "I hope that's not a problem. After all, I was under the impression that the rules for initiates were the same across all temples."
Kinen just turned his gaze on me. "From the sounds of it, you'll be wearing the blue swirls of Compassion next, Nariana. Just know that when that happens, you will no longer be welcome in my temple."
Chapter 8
Nariana
"It's not your temple," I shot back, unable to hold my tongue. "It's Zeal's. It's all of ours. You may have been elected as the High Priest of Temptation, but that does not make you the lord of the place."
Those words came out just a bit too loud. My tone had been much too defiant. I should've shut up and backed off, but it was too late for that now. And yet, I couldn't stop thinking about how Wraythe had said that it was time to start fighting back. For two years, I had danced around Kinen, and he still wasn't happy with it. I'd tried to make it clear that I didn't want his job, and he refused to believe me.
So now it was time to stand my ground.
Tonight was the Fresh Start, a time to learn from our past mistakes, and being meek had been mine. Zeal chose me because I raged, and in the opulence of this room, that fury was building inside me again. If Kinen wanted to push me around, then I would make it very clear that I could push back.
"Oh, so is it yours?" Kinen snapped, taking a step toward me. "Are you the one telling Lady Ranndor to withhold the tithe? Do you honestly think you're so important that you're willing to make the entire temple do without for your own pride? Never mind that! Do you really think that those marks on your skin are anything more than a sign that the tears are no longer working?"
He was so angry that his face was turning red, and spittle sprayed from his lips. I ignored that, refusing to back away in fear that it might land on me. From the edge of my vision, I could see the gods moving in. Red, yellow, green, white, black, and blue clothing swirled around us, which meant other priests had noticed. What had started as a common accident in a crowded room had just become a scene, and I was willing to use that.
"Is that how you explain your own lace?" I asked. "And if the tears really are broken, then why do they work for every temple but yours? Could this merely be a sign of our leadership's failings? Because if you want to throw around accusations, Priest Kinen, then I can throw them back."
"You insolent little..." He clenched his jaw, stopping himself. "Initiates are not guaranteed to graduate, and when you fail, I will make sure that your mismatched lace is removed and you are sent back to wherever you came from!"
"Nari, don't," Cesyr begged.
